What made you think today?

[CoolGuy1013]

Why exactly does everyone hate cancel culture? I mean, if you do something bad, you should be punished.

 

[LittleJerry92]

There are situations that absolutely were deserved (Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, John K etc), but very often situations can be looked at too black and white and result in frustrating consequences as a result of jumping to conclusions.

Johnny Depp alone is a good example. He lost his career over a toxic actress he was in a relationship with. People were too quick to take her side without giving Johnny a chance to speak up, even fighting his ways to save his life, but continues to fall to the bottom as the actress wins. A lot of this can fall under double standards.

I think that’s why cancel culture is often looked at negatively - because there are situations where it’s absolutely called for, but other times situations can be looked at too black and white and then comes down to which side is right and which is wrong with no evidence or time to speak and boom. Problem solved. When really half the time time it’s only unfair double standards.

 

[fuzzygobo]

And they were examples of early cancel culture before cancel culture was even a thing due to John Lennon's infamous, "We're more popular than Jesus," remark.

I did a whole term paper on this. John’s words were taken out of context. What was printed in the back pages of the London Evening Standard got distorted out of context on a teenage magazine. The comments were originally about the decline in religion in England over the past 50 years, and what John learned from a recent book called The Passover Plot.
But the sensational headlines made it seem like John was boasting about the Beatles’ fame.
The reaction, many radio stations banned Beatle music, there were record burnings, death threats, the KKK showed up at their concerts in Memphis. But a number of religious leaders agreed with John’s comments, as it seems teenagers more more interested in listening to the Bestles than going to church.
John did apologize, his apology was accepted, but the Beatles at this point were sick of touring, sick of playing to crowds that can’t hear them over the screaming, sick of being hounded by their fame. So after this last tour, they would just be a studio band.

They never really got canceled. Their popularity and influence grew when fans couldn’t see them anymore. And their records kept getting better.

 

[LittleJerry92]

I just realized it’s been an entire year now since I got banned from a stop and shop close to my hometown for shoplifting (it was the first day of this month).

I stole a case of muffins and a milk and a woman (I’m guessing the manager?) noticed and pulled me over when I went outside. I gave everything back and she told me not to come back, and let me tell you, since then my shoplifting days were over.

Yeah, it was a stupid habit I had with certain stores that didn’t have security bars and it was usually around night time I would do it since there weren’t as many people around. It was something I did for years and now looking back isn’t something I’m proud of. I’m just very grateful I didn’t have to hand over my information or get my picture taken or anything like that. I certainly dodged a MAJOR bullet, but it was also a big wake up call for me.

 

[fuzzygobo]

You got off light. You could’ve faced more serious charges, like spending a night in jail.

 

[LittleJerry92]

Oh for sure, definitely not something that would have looked good on my background. If I’m being honest, since this was during the third month of the pandemic while we were still in lockdown, I think the woman just wanted me gone after I handed the stuff back. But like I said, it was a wake up call for me and I could have been in much worse trouble.

 

[fuzzygobo]

When I worked at Penney’s, we used to have kids shoplifting all the time. If they got caught, they got hauled off to the police station, and their parents had to bail them out.
If you’re over 21, that’s a ticket to jail. They’ll put you in a cell with a big guy named Tiny telling you, “Hey, Muffin Man! Pick up that soap!”
D’oh!!!

 

[LittleJerry92]

Personally watching documentaries of life behind prison, it really isn’t worth breaking the law.

-says the guy who also uploads Sesame Street clips on YouTube

 

[fuzzygobo]

Scared Straight. That started as a documentary in 1978 to try to steer kids clear of ending up in jail. It was shot at Rahway Prison in NJ. Rahway is like Alcatraz, Sing Sing, and Riker’s Island combined. This is where hardcore murderers and rapists are sent.
Scared Straight was a noble idea, trying to deter kids from a life of crime. Unfortunately many of the kids who were exposed to prison life ended up there anyway. It didn’t work so well as a deterrent, but it shows the rest of us the reality of life behind bars.

 

[Any Del]

In my opinion Scared Straight works for some people but I feel like it is doing more harm than good. All the stuff that goes down on that program will cause psychological and emotional damage to the participants and breed the same crimes that they've seen while on that program.